"The Government's latest Business Rates Relief scheme has delivered a serious blow to Britain's night-time economy, explicitly excluding nightclubs, grassroots electronic music venues and recorded music spaces, and reinforcing growing concern that electronic music and counter-cultural spaces continue to be overlooked in national policy."
"At a time when the UK has already lost more than a third of its nightclubs, ministers have introduced a relief package that leaves surviving venues facing higher costs, fewer businesses to share the burden, and no meaningful support, a decision that risks accelerating closures across the sector. Fewer venues, higher taxes, no relief - Nightclub figures reveal the scale of the imbalance: Nightclubs (VOA 199/303) down 32% since 2017 Total Rateable Value: £69.4m, up from £65.4m in 2017 Average RV per nightclub: £56,000, up from £35,725 in 2017 A 56% increase, despite one-third fewer venues remaining"
"In effect, a shrinking sector is now paying more overall, while being excluded from the very relief schemes designed to protect hospitality, culture and town-centre economies. Beyond nightclubs, the continued exclusion of recorded music environments, including DJ-led venues, listening bars, grassroots electronic music spaces and hybrid cultural venues, is especially alarming. These spaces are core infrastructure for the UK's music ecosystem. They support artist development, local employment, night-time economies and one of the country's most successful cultural exports. Yet once again, recorded music-led venues fall outside eligibility criteria, echoing the pandemic-era failures when electronic music was excluded from Cultural Recovery Fund support. Despite assurances that those mistakes would not be repeated, the same policy blind spots have returned."
The Government's Business Rates Relief scheme explicitly excludes nightclubs, grassroots electronic music venues and recorded music spaces, leaving them without support. The UK has lost over a third of its nightclubs since 2017, while total rateable value and average rateable value per remaining nightclub have both risen, concentrating higher costs among fewer businesses. Surviving venues face higher taxes, fewer businesses to share burdens and no meaningful relief, increasing closure risk. Recorded-music-led venues provide core infrastructure for artist development, employment, night-time economies and cultural export, yet they fall outside eligibility, repeating pandemic-era exclusions.
Read at London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
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